1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an improved neuromusclar training system for prompting stereotyped muscular control on the part of a user and quantitatively recording the user's performance and method for prompting stereotyped muscular control on the part of a user and quantitatively recording the user's performance, and more particularly, the invention is directed to electromyography (EMG) in the use of instrumentation for the visual and auditory cues to the user as to the degree of muscular control, as a function of the magnitude of myoelectric signals associated with the contraction and relaxation of skeletal muscles that is used in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of medical conditions.
The invention relates further to a system for applying EMG biofeedback and/or exercise training of an individual in an unsupervised environment in which the individual's muscular performance and compliance to the prescribed biofeedback and exercise program may be monitored by a medical or therapist authority, and the method of constructing the system thereof as more particularly described herein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electromyographic (EMG) activities and measurements are those developed or derived by transcutaneous measurements taken across the skin, i.e., on or upon the surface of the skin, by use of electrodes connected in an electronics circuit or system and fed back to the patient or subject in the form of visual and/or auditory exteroceptive signals; transcutaneous electromyographic neouromuscular feedback has proven to be an important and often indispensable tool in the acquisition and retraining of volitional control of muscular action and coordination in many areas of medicine and related therapy. EMG feedback is also found to serve as an adjunctive quantitative evaluation of the effectiveness of therapeutic treatment of specific muscles or of muscle groups in terms of rate and degree of therapeutic progress.
Also, recent research indicates that EMG feedback exerts a positive influence on directed exercise in terms of increased muscle mass of the exercised portion of the body, and EMG feedback coupled with exercise produces significant gains in muscle mass beyond exercise alone. Patients with immobilized fractures of body extremities, as one example, are found to suffer decreased blood flow and muscle mass in a confined limb, and which often requires lengthy and sometimes painful rehabilitation following removal of a cast or brace. Such patients are candidates for EMG feedback-assisted isometric exercise training with the EMG electrode means embedded in the cast or brace and positioned superficially over the muscle or muscles being trained.
Medical literature references are known that indicate patients being candidates for kinds of prescribed and extensive EMG feedback and exercise programs are patients having these kinds of conditions: cerebral vascular accident or and head trauma; spinal cord injuries; peripheral nerve damage; industrial accidents undergoing work-hardening for lower back or other muscles; orthopaedic and physical therapy programs involving rehabilitation; urinary and fecal incontinence; athletics and sports related injuries; and requirements for relaxation training for headache, chronic pain, psychotherapeutic relaxation, and muscle hypertension and spasm.
Various prior art EMG biofeedback systems and the like, as well as apparatus and method of their construction in general, are found to be known and exemplary of the U.S. prior art are the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 3,641,993 Gaarder
U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,355 Brudney.
Brudney discloses equipment for processing detected EMG activity such that it may be provided to a subject in a psychophysiologically meaningful manner for the treatment of disorders of voluntary movement. Gaarder discloses a more generalized scheme for exteroceptive feedback of EMG activity by converting the magnitude of the processed signal to a logarithmic form to obviate the need for constant readjustment of various gain settings potentially disruptive to the therapeutic process and confusing to the clinician who may have only a hazy concept of the meaning of various gain adjustments (Gaarder, column 1, lines 20-25, and 40-45).
These patents or known prior uses teach and disclose various types of exercise training systems and devices of sorts and of various manufactures and the like as well as methods of their construction, but none of them whether taken singly or in combination disclose the specific details of the combination of the invention in such a way as to bear upon the claims of the present invention.